COMMENTARY

It has been a whole year since Pope Francis was elected. What a year it has been. Before the conclave, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was not well known outside of Argentina. But from the moment he stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Francis, greeting the world with a simple “Buonasera (Good evening),” he has captured the hearts, imagination and vision of growing multitudes of people.

Recently featured on the cover of Rolling Stone, he was also named Time magazine’s "Person of the Year," and 3 million people came out to celebrate Mass with him at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro last year. Everywhere we turn, people are talking about Pope Francis. And everywhere I have...READ MORE

More than 15,000 persons in Italy have suffered the loss of a loved one from mafia violence.

VATICAN CITY — This coming Friday, Pope Francis is slated to preside over a prayer vigil for victims of mafia violence and their families, which takes place the night before the national day commemorating the lives lost.

“For the families of innocent victims, this meeting with the Pope is a gift,” Father Luigi Ciotti expressed in a March 15 article on the Vatican Radio website.

“The availability of the Pope to accompany these family members in this moment, laden with suffering but also marked by hope, is a sign of attention and sensitivity, which they seized from the first moment,” he said.

Father Ciotti, an Italian priest from the Archdiocese of Turin, is president of Libera Foundation,...READ MORE

My wife, Mary, and I had not visited this cathedral in several years, but we wanted to get reacquainted with it, especially since it was recently restored and redecorated. In fact, the last major mural was completed the day before we arrived in early March.

The majestic cathedral, with its stone and lawn plaza, looked its same pristine self, standing at the edge of the town’s historic district just as it has since 1879.

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church priests were kidnapped over the weekend, ahead of the March 16 referendum that backed uniting Crimea with Russia.

KIEV, UKRAINE — Three priests of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church who were kidnapped in Crimea over the weekend have reportedly been returned and are safe.

“We have just spoken with Father Nicholas Kvych, pastor of the UGCC in Sevastopol. With the help of his parishioners, he was able to leave Crimea, and he is now on mainland Ukraine,” the information service of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said in a statement released late in the day on March 16, according to Radio Svoboda.

Father Kvych had been kidnapped this weekend by pro-Russian forces, as had Father Bohdan Kosteskiy from Yevpatoria and Father Ihor Gabryliv from Yalta. Father Kvych, a navy chaplain, had been abducted...READ MORE

In his weekly Angelus address, the Holy Father recommended reading the Gospel frequently, in order to listen to God and share it with others.

VATICAN CITY — In his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Francis reflected on the scene of the Transfiguration, emphasizing the importance of listening to God, especially in Scripture, and of sharing the Gospel with others.

“And this is curious. When we hear the word of God, listen to the word of God and have it in our heart, that word grows. And do you know how it grows? Giving it to others,” the Pope exclaimed in his March 16 Angelus address.

“The word of Christ in us grows when we proclaim it, when we give it to the others!”

Addressing the thousands present in St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father centered his weekly discourse on the day’s Gospel, which recounted the story of the...READ MORE